The Princess Blog

I received an ARC of Claiming the Princess  by Charis Michaels through NetGalley . Although I usually read clean romance books, I was intrigued by the concept behind the Hidden Royals series , which involves exiled members of a royal family who live in hiding until they fall in love. This is the third and final book in the series, and it made me want to read the other two. The story reminded me a lot of Anastasia , which is one of my favorite movies. Even though there were three brief passages that I needed to skip over, it was surprisingly sweet, adventurous, and relaxing, with charmingly flawed characters and an enticing plot. When Captain Luke Bannock saves a prized member of the royal court from a vicious nobleman, he is offered a reward of his choosing. He selects the hand of the princess that his enemy wishes to marry as a form of revenge. Little did he know that Princess Danielle was raised by surrogate parents who never told her of her royal roots. When he realizes that he...

I was on the fence about reviewing the new Snow White  remake for a while, but since this is The Princess Blog, it's only fair . (See what I did there?) This movie has been the source of endless controversy over the past five years or so. Some of it was unfounded, particularly when it involved racist comments toward the lead actress , but some of it is justified. When the movie was first announced, I shared my thoughts about how the story of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" has already been retold countless times by other studios in a way that modernized it with respect toward the original fairy tale and didn't step on Walt Disney's legacy. Creating a blatant copy of the first feature-length animated movie of all time  and taking away the one thing that made it special—the animation—is an insult to the animation medium as an art form. My stance on this has not changed, so here are my thoughts on this sham of a film. Ever since the backlash to Rachel Zegler...

Although I am no stranger to ARCs or book reviews, Goodbye, My Princess  by Fei Wo Si Cun  is the first ARC that I completed for my new account on NetGalley . I had no idea what to expect from this one. It is an English translation of a Chinese story, so I was hoping for some fun Chinese mythology revolving around immortals and spirits in the vein of Ashes of Love  or Love Between Fairy and Devil . This book contained very little of that lore, and the characters are quite human. There was one supernatural element, but it was more dark and depressing than fantastical. For those of you who enjoy Chinese dramas, it looks like there was  a 2019 TV series inspired by the book. Overall, this book is a cautionary tale about trust and sacrifice. The first thing that threw me off about this book is that it is published by Simon & Schuster's Children's Publishing , which led me to believe that it would be a quick and easy read. It is neither of those things. Although ther...

I recently received an ARC from Celeste Baxendell  for This Rotting Heart , which takes place in the same original fantasy elf world as Ties of Starlight   from the Tethered Hearts series . The book had a lot in common with Ties of Starlight  and could have easily been another entry into the Tethered Hearts series. Both stories are about arranged marriages between a human woman and an elf king in which the woman is initially reluctant but grows to love her husband over time. The post-marital love trope seems to be a recurring theme in a lot of modern fantasy stories . This Rotting Heart  contains many similarities to Celeste Baxendell's other stories , including romantic misunderstandings and characters being forced to make difficult decisions that hurt the ones they care about. Princess Hellebore is an alchemist who is wholly devoted to her craft and wishes for nothing more than to study rotting plants day and night. When she is captured by the sun elves, she fight...

A few days ago, Disney released the full soundtrack  of their controversial Snow White  movie that comes out this week. Among the multitude of new songs that have been added to the butchering of this classic film is one performed by Andrew Burnap called "Princess Problems."  This song has not been promoted nearly as much as the new "feminist" anthem, "Waiting on a Wish," and for good reason. With all the negativity surrounding this movie, anyone who sees the title of this song would have instant fodder to take it out of context and apply it to Disney directly, and they wouldn't be too far off. Disney does  have princess problems, but not the ones described in the song. A couple of weeks ago, Disney announced that they were ceasing production of their upcoming Tiana series , which had been in development hell for the past five years, upsetting many fans and even the voice actress for Tiana herself . The cause of this cancellation was their decision t...

Back when I was a pre-teen in the '90s borrowing recorded VHS tapes of Sailor Moon from my friends who had cable, I never imagined that one day I would see a cast of professional Japanese actresses portraying the characters in a live musical! Musical adaptations of anime are fairly common in Japan, whereas America just gets the occasional Disney on Broadway adaptation. The North American tour of  Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Super Live  began in Pittsburgh last week on March 12th. I attended the official opening night yesterday in Austin and had my first introduction to the world of Japanese musical theatre. The show was presented to an enthusiastic crowd of cosplayers and life-long fans of the series. Light sticks that could be used to participate in the rave-style concert that took place after the main show were sold at the merchandise booth. The musical is an abridged summary of the show's first arc, which covers the Dark Kingdom saga and introduces all of the inner s...

Over the years, I frequently referenced the mermaid stories by my long-time friend, Kae-Leah Williamson . Today, she has completed her longest mermaid book yet, Pearlina and the Water Faery , which is free to read on Wattpad! This is the latest story in her series of reimagined fairy tales that take place in undersea fantasy kingdoms of merfolk and talking fish. Pearlina  is a loose retelling of "Thumbelina"  that ties into the other books Kae-Leah has written on Wattpad and includes tons of Easter egg-style references to Don Bluth , Hans Christian Andersen, and "The Little Mermaid."  Over the time I have known Kae-Leah, she has grown exponentially as a writer, and this is her best work yet. When an ancient mermaid mourns the distant loss of her daughter, a prince's favor grants her a magic shell promised to grant her heart's desire. From the shell emerges Pearlina, a dark-skinned mermaid the size of a Barbie doll. Pearlina helps to care for her mother in th...

I was completely enamored by Beauty in the Tower , the first book I read in the Realms of Caelia series by Sara Farnsworth , so I jumped at the chance to read an ARC of her newest book, Ella & the Seven Dwarves ,  which comes out on April 4th. This book is a combined retelling of "Cinderella" and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"  with elements of "Swan Lake" and "The Wild Swans"  that are incorporated from the previous Realms of Caelia book, Lake of the Wild Swans . This breathtakingly magical series combines the lore of many fairy tales and myths to create a world of enchantment and wonder. Sara Farnsworth also does a great job building up love stories that feel organic and heartwarming. Princess Ella seems to have it all--a loving father, a royal lineage, and a handsome prince who cares about her dearly. Everything goes wrong when her father marries a greedy woman with two vain daughters and falls ill shortly after. When Ella's love,...

Today marks the fourth consecutive year that I have attended the Cedar Park High School Choir's annual Princess Tea , and it was just as magical as ever! From the Chinese dragon photo station to the red lanterns on the stage and the tables, the high school theater was transformed into ancient China. Mulan hosted this year's concert of princesses and heroes for Mulan's Camp of Courage. Although the boys of the Pitch Black choral group had astounding harmonies and many comedic moments, they took even more of a backseat than previous years to the princesses of the evening who were performed by the Seasons. The show consisted of well-known Disney songs loosely woven together by a competition of courage led by Mulan. The biggest surprise characters of the evening were Princess Leia and Han Solo of Star Wars  fame. Although they didn't perform a solo number, there were lots of fun quips about the time they spent on other planets. Leia surprised everyone with her recipe for ch...

Every year on February 26th, some of the most talented fairy tale authors in the world get together to share games, promotions, and free books in honor of National Tell a Fairy Tale Day . This year, not only has Brittany Fichter launched her annual Once Upon 2025  celebration again with a large group of authors, but Callie Thomas  has also gotten in on the fun as well with a fairy tale adventure of her own. Due to the number of authors involved, these online parties can be a bit time-consuming if you wish to participate in every event. It's especially challenging for those of us with full-time jobs or other commitments because the games and freebies tend to vanish after National Fairy Tale Day is over. For that reason, it's a good idea to plan for this day ahead of time and start early so you don't miss out on the fun.  It's too bad it doesn't take place on a weekend! This year, I decided to start my morning with Callie Thomas's Fairy Tale Adventure  because i...

Cursed Princess Club  is a webtoon comic that was later converted into an "unscrolled" series of graphic novels . Although the series was completed recently, I have only read the first two graphic novels, which cover about half the story. Still, I'd like to make a post about it because I found this series incredibly uplifting for princess fans who feel they don't fit the mold. It's full of humor, bright pastel aesthetics, and surprising antics. The main character is similar to Emily from Corpse Bride  in the respect that she sees herself as feminine and princess-like and is surprised when others don't due to her unusual appearance. She was brought up by a loving family who sheltered her and her two sisters, who fit a more generic princess mold with their blue eyes and pale hair. It's a story about staying true to yourself despite how others see you and subverting expectations. Princess Gwendolyn's life in the Pastel Kingdom is turned upside-down when h...

Ties of Starlight  by Celeste Baxendell  is the first ARC I've had the pleasure of reading from the upcoming Tethered Hearts series . This multi-author series features romantasy plots about couples who are brought together through magical bonds. I am fortunate enough to be on the street team for these riveting stories by many of my favorite authors. The first book will be released on March 7th, and the one I am reviewing here will come out the following week on March 14th. This book follows Celeste Baxendell's typical writing style  of couples who face terrible obstacles that test their love until they realize how much they need each other to be happy. Although I haven't read the other Tethered Hearts books yet, this will probably be one of the darker ones in the series. It is the first book that Celeste has written about elves, which she plans to expand into other books that take place in this new fantasy setting. Idonea is a half-elf who was chosen to become part o...

Enchanting Fate  by Ashley Evercott  is a twisted retelling of "Beauty and the Beast"  in which the girl destined to break the beast's spell falls in love with one of the other cursed residents of the castle. It is the first book in the Fairy Tales of Gallia series, which is likely to contain other twists on popular stories. Fractured fairy tales are a popular niche , and I'll admit this was a concept I hadn't seen before in a retelling. The characters' motivations are clear, and their struggles are understandable. However, the solution to their problem seems so obvious that some chapters are frustrating to get through. I just wanted to see everyone live out their happy ending with their true love and stop obsessing so much over a misunderstood solution to the curse. Marguerite is the daughter of a merchant whose business is about to go under. To restore her family's legacy, she must marry a wealthy nobleman who she doesn't particularly care for. Howev...